


happy it's you

by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)



Series: omgcp [4]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Larissa "Lardo" Duan/Shitty B. Knight, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8588089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/foxerica
Summary: The change being that somewhere on his body, he’ll receive a soul mate mark. The soulmate mark could be anything - a word, a phrase, an image, a drawing, a splash of colour. It’s supposed to symbolize one’s soul mate, and Eric can’t wait. He’s too anxious to know what he’ll have on his skin for the rest of his life.
What would his soulmate be like? Would she be tall and pretty? Would she laugh at his jokes and find him interesting? Would she want to play video games or maybe…
The clock strikes midnight and Eric takes a deep breath. He waits.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarcasticfishes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasticfishes/gifts).



> Originally posted [here.](https://ericadays.tumblr.com/post/153348253017/for-kantperson-xo-x-x-x-happy-its-you-the)

x x x 

 

The night before Eric turns thirteen, he can’t sleep. His parents are down the hall, and everything is so quiet that he can hear his dad’s snoring. Eric stares at the ceiling. His friends who had turned thirteen before him had told him to sleep through the night. That way they wouldn’t feel the pain of the change.

The change being that somewhere on his body, he’ll receive a soul mate mark. The soulmate mark could be anything - a word, a phrase, an image, a drawing, a splash of colour. It’s supposed to symbolize one’s soul mate, and Eric can’t wait. He’s too anxious to know what he’ll have on his skin for the rest of his life.

What would his soulmate be like? Would she be tall and pretty? Would she laugh at his jokes and find him interesting? Would she want to play video games or maybe…

The clock strikes midnight and Eric takes a deep breath. He waits. There’s a tickling sensation on his wrist, and he starts to scratch it before he realizes this is where his mark is about to appear. Eric rolls over to turn on the light and holds his left wrist out in front of him.

His soul mate is out there somewhere. Eric smiles as his skin starts to burn. He hadn’t wanted to be one of the unlucky ones who didn’t receive a soul mate mark on their thirteenth birthday. His parents aren’t soul mates, and he knows they love each other a lot, but he had wanted a soul mate _so_  badly. He had figured that knowing there was a girl out there in the world for him…it’d make him feel a little less alone.

Eric’s surprised when the image starts to take form on his wrist. It looks like…well, it looks like a drawing of a hockey stick. He feels giddy. His soul mate must be into hockey as well. She’s going to be so cool.

 

x x x

 

By the time Eric’s in college, he’s almost given up on looking for his soul mate. He tells people it’s a tattoo he had gotten in honour of his love for hockey and not a soul mate mark. Sometimes, at night, he runs his fingers over it and pretends that his soul mate is watching him on the ice. It’s just…most people with soul mate marks meet their soul mates by the time they’re eighteen.

That’s just how the world works. When he turned nineteen, he’d found an article about people who don’t find their soul mates by the time they’re eighteen. Statistically speaking, if they don’t meet by the time they’re twenty-five, there’s a 78% chance that they never will.

Eric’s drunk at his twenty-first birthday party, thinking about how he might not ever find the love of his life. She must be out there somewhere…

“Bitty,” Jack’s warm voice comes from above him. Eric looks up and smiles warmly. God, he loves Jack. Jack is incredible. He had gotten drafted to the NHL, but he still manages to find time to come home for Eric’s birthday. There are few people better than Jack Zimmerman. If any. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m very fuzzy right now,” Eric admits with a laugh. “Do you–will you sit with me?”

“Sure, birthday boy.” Jack settles down on the ground with him. They’re sitting outside, leaning against the side of The Haus. The early May air is cool and crisp, but Eric doesn’t mind. He takes another swig of his beer and looks at Jack.

There’s something about the way that Jack is so damn confident. He carries himself very well. And he looks real good while he does it. Eric hiccups and Jack gives him a smile. Man, Eric sure does love his smile.

“Did Chowder pressure you into drinking too much tonight?” Jack teases.

Eric snorts. “As if Chowder could ever pressure anyone into anything.”

“I suppose that’s true. So, Eric Bittle, tell me. What’s the Haus like without me around?” Jack asks with one of those looks. Those looks that creep under Eric’s skin and haunt his thoughts before he falls asleep at night. The kind that make Eric wonder if maybe Jack feels something else for him…but that’s impossible.

“It’s…” Eric trails off. It’s _lonely._  It’s _boring._  It’s…well, really, it’s great. It’s not the same. But it’s great. “I miss you around here.”

“Yeah? I miss being around here. The Falconers are great, but honestly? This team is my family.” Jack sighs, before taking another sip of his beer. Eric looks at him intensely for a moment before he puts his head on Jack’s shoulder. He’s right. This hockey team and all of the players is home. Jack is home.

Eric sets his beer bottle down on the floor beside him and fidgets with his hands in his lap. “I wish you’d come home more often.”

“Me too,” Jack murmurs. “My schedule doesn’t really allow it though, y’know? We could Skype more. Or talk on the phone - you could always call me. If I’m busy when you do, I’ll call you back when I can. And–”

Eric looks up at Jack, his chin still on Jack’s shoulder. He nuzzles into him. “You’re my best friend, Jack.”

Jack gives a small laugh and puts his hand on Eric’s knee. “You’re mine too, Bitty. You accept me as who I am, and you don’t like me because you have some idea of who I should be. You believe in me and support me and…you’re really good at making me forget.”

“Forget what?”

“Who everyone wants me to be,” Jack murmurs. “With you, I can just _be.”_

“You make me forget stuff too.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Before Eric can tell him that Jack makes him forget he’s supposed to have a soul mate out there, the front door swings open and almost hits Jack. They both look up to see Shitty and Lardo stumbling out, Shitty’s hands tangled up in her hair as they kiss.

“Whoa,” Eric whispers.

‘Finally, eh?” Jack says just as quiet.

Shitty and Lardo manage to make it to the porch swing. She falls down first and moans. “More. More. Please.”

Shitty clearly has no problems obliging. Jack murmurs, “Let’s get out of here?”

“Yeah,” Eric says, letting Jack help him up. They sneak back into the Haus, and Eric’s pretty sure neither Shitty nor Lardo notices them. Eric covers his mouth before he starts to giggle and Jack bursts out laughing.

“Wow. It’s been how many years? They’ve been tiptoeing around each other and pretending that they weren’t into each other and…” Jack laughs a little harder. “Jeez. I wonder how they finally figured it out.”

“They were probably debating about something. The new Samwell hockey manager or something,” Eric suggests. It’s only then that he realizes his hand is still in Jack’s from when he helped Eric stand up. His hand fits perfectly with Jack’s, and it’s comfortable, so he doesn’t pull away immediately. “Thanks for coming to talk to me.”

“Anytime,” Jack murmurs. Then he pulls his hand away from Eric’s to wrap his arm around Eric’s shoulders instead. “Shall we go see what the other boys are up to?”

Eric lets Jack lead him into the kitchen where an intense game of beer pong is going on. He settles into Jack’s side and finds himself smiling.

So what if he doesn’t find his soul mate? He has Jack. Jack is better than a soul mate. Jack _chooses_  to love him. Jack chooses to be his best friend. Jack wants to talk more. What’s better than that?

 

x x x

 

“Okay, well, _whatever._  You’re completely missing the point of my story!” Eric says, laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. He can’t resist laughing because he can hear Jack’s muffled giggles. Jack giggling must be the best thing in the whole world.

“Mmm, yeah. That must be it,” Jack teases. “Um, so, I was wondering…did you see the headlines?”

Eric’s amusement drops immediately. “I did. Man, I’m so sorry. How did they find out that you have a soul mate mark?”

“A photo shoot - my shirt moved the wrong way and then my soul mate mark was almost exposed. You can’t really make out what it is, thank god, but now everyone is talking about how sad it is that I haven’t found my soul mate,” Jack tells Eric. He sounds so sad and unsure of himself.

“They’re awful. Exploiting you like that. I didn’t even know you had a soul mate mark. We never talk about it, so I figured you didn’t have one,” Eric admits.

Jack sighs. “Well, yeah. Did you know that statistically people don’t find their soul mates until they’re 29?”

Eric’s surprised. “What do you mean? I thought it was 18?”

“No, no. That’s just one of those weird facts that got spread around and everyone seems to accept as truth? Like swimming after you eat will make you have a stomach ache? It’s not true,” Jack tells him.

Eric’s heart starts to pound. This means his soul mate could still be out there and statistically, he has a chance of meeting her. A sinking feeling starts to settle in his stomach and he closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to meet his soul mate. He’s been enjoying getting to know Jack on a more personal level. If either of them start dating someone else, well, they probably wouldn’t talk as much. And that would _suck._

“I didn’t know that,” Eric whispers into the phone, his voice cracking a little.

“Yeah. But anyway, the tabloids are making a big deal about nothing. I don’t talk about my soul mate mark because I didn’t want people to pretend to be my soul mate, y’know? Besides, I think it’s only fair that my soul mate gets to _choose_  to be with me. I don’t want them to feel like…like they’re forced to be with me just because the universe says so. Haven’t you heard of people who date people who aren’t their soul mate and get broken hearted when their partner’s soul mate shows up? It’s all bullshit and devastating and everyone always chooses their soul mate.”

Eric wipes some tears from his eyes. Wow. Jack’s really something special. He nods, even though Jack can’t see him. His entire body feels heavy. He looks down at his wrist, the hockey stick looking the same as it has for the past eight years. Sometimes, he’d pretend that the hockey stick was for Jack. “Yeah. I, um, well, I try to avoid stuff about soul mate marks.”

“Oh? You’re not fascinated like the rest of the world?” Jack asks.

“No, well–” Eric isn’t sure how to answer.

Just then, a knock comes at his bedroom door. Eric tells Jack to hold on for a second and he climbs off his bed to open the door. Lardo stands there, her face wet from tears.

“Jack, um, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Lardo’s here and–”

“Say no more. Talk to you later, Bits.”

“Love you,” Eric says, mostly out of habit.

“Love you too,” Jack responds.

Eric hangs up and tries to ignore the wave of warmth that rushes over him because Jack loves him too. He holds his arms out and Lardo dives into him for a hug. She starts crying softly and Eric pulls her in, shuts the door behind them, and holds her tightly. “Lardo, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“He–” Lardo starts to cry a little harder. She manages to get her sobs down to a whimper, but understanding what she’s saying is hard. “Shitty’s soul mate showed up!”

The irony of the situation hits Eric like a ton of bricks. He rubs Lardo’s back. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know he _had_  a soul mate mark.”

“Me neither. God, I hate it all. I never got a soul mate mark. And I know that this is stupid. It’s his _soul mate._  Of course, he has to be with him. We’ve only been together for _four months._  Like, I don’t even have a right to be upset,” Lardo says, and all Eric can do is let her get it out.

He kisses the top of her forehead. “I wish I could make it better, Larissa.”

She sniffs and mumbles, “I didn’t know where else to go. I didn’t want to be alone.”

“Of course. C’mon, why don’t we lay down and watch a movie on Netflix?” Eric suggests.

“Thanks, Bitty. You’re the best.” She wipes her eyes and steps back. Then she crawls into his bed. He pulls up his laptop and sits down beside her. “You can choose what we watch.”

“Definitely not _TiMER._ ”

Eric laughs. He grabs his cell phone from the side table and texts Jack.

 

**ERIC:** _shitty’s soul mate showed up. lardo is devastated._

**JACK:** _what? what are the odds of that? tell lardo I’m sending her love. that sucks so much._

**ERIC:** _yeah, so I guess I definitely understand why you don’t talk about your soul mate mark. I’ll call you tomorrow or the day after?_

**JACK:** _day after. game night tomorrow._

**ERIC:** _right, duh._

**JACK:** _sweet dreams, bits._

**ERIC:** _sweet dreams._

“I guess I kind of thought that Shitty would choose me instead of his soul mate. On some level, I thought maybe…” Lardo trails off. She clicks a movie on the laptop. “Let’s watch this.”

Eric reaches down and grabs her hand. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Lardo curls up into him.

 

x x x

 

“You were wrong,” Eric tells Jack on the phone a few weeks later.

“About what?” Jack asks.

“Shitty told Lardo that he’s in love with her. He chose her over his soul mate,” Eric says. “He didn’t choose his soul mate, who, I guess is a pretty cool guy.”

“Wow. Good for Shitty. He and Lardo have been friends for so long, I would’ve been surprised if he wasn’t in love with her,” Jack answers. He takes a deep breath, “But you get what I mean, right? About wanting to give my soul mate a choice?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s really heroic of you. The press hasn’t let up on the whole issue and all they have is a slightly curved line. None of the photos show what your soul mate mark is, so I think the speculation will die down eventually.”

“I hope so.”

“So, when is the next time I get to see your beautiful face?” Eric asks.

“I’m going to try to be there for next month. Shitty’s birthday party.”

“I’m going to start a countdown,” Eric tells him. “It’s been too long.”

“I agree.”

 

x x x

 

It happens at an arcade. Shitty had chosen the place to celebrate his birthday, and the entire Samwell hockey team had shown up to join. Eric had been nervously playing with a loose thread on his t-shirt when Jack had finally shown up. They’d hugged, much longer than Jack hugged anyone else, and Eric had started to feel more settled.

A few hours pass, and Jack challenges Eric to a game of air hockey. Eric agrees, because he thinks he can crush Jack at the game. They’re bouncing the puck back and forth, when Eric gets a little aggressive.

The air hockey puck goes flying off the table and almost hits Jack in the arm. He dodges it and then chases after it. Eric starts laughing, which dies the second Jack’s shirt slips up when he bends over and he sees Jack’s soul mate mark.

A pie.

His soul mate mark is a _pie._

Jack stands up, his grin fading when he sees Eric’s shocked expression. He lowers his hand with the puck in it and says, “Bitty–Eric–I can expla–”

“I’m so happy it’s you,” Eric whispers. He holds up his wrist towards Jack. “This isn’t a tattoo. This is my soul mate mark.”

“It is?” Jack asks, stopping short. “You are?”

Eric’s smile spreads slowly across his face. “I’m _so_  happy it’s you. I couldn’t imagine it being anyone else.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jack rushes forward, closing the space between them in a second. He wraps his hand around the back of Eric’s neck and leans down to kiss him. Eric leans up on his tiptoes and melts into the moment.

When Jack pulls away for a moment, he smiles. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Their foreheads are touching. And then they’re kissing all over again.

 

x x x 

**Author's Note:**

> my first time writing jack/bitty! hope it's okay.


End file.
